Absolutely deplorable. Just hours after 13 people were charged in an alleged domestic terrorism plot to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, pResident Trump was attacking her in a twitter blast that espoused the very same cause supported by the plotters.
Of course, Trump gave absolutely no credit to the role played by Michigan law enforcement agencies.
Six people face federal charges of conspiracy to kidnap. Seven other people, linked to the Wolverine Watchmen pseudo-militia group, were charged by the state, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
And of course Trump could not resist the opportunity to lie about Joe Biden, who has consistently condemned any protest-related violence.
Biden did so again in the presidential debate, while Trump refused to condemn white supremacists. Trump even told the ultra-right Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by." Not surprisingly, the founder of the Proud Boys, Gavin McInness showed up and was cheered at the weekend vigil for Trump outside Walter Reed Medical Center.
Whitmer did not waste any time in responding to Trump’s tweet storm.
Biden said he had reached out to Whitmer earlier in the day to check in with her after details of the alleged plot were revealed.
Biden issued a statement late Thursday that read in part: “There is a throughline from President Trump’s dog whistles and tolerance of hate, vengeance, and lawlessness to plots such as this one. He is giving oxygen to the bigotry and hate we see on the march in our country."
Michigan’s AG Nessel told a news conference that the people in state custody are suspected of attempting “to identify the home addresses of law enforcement officers in order to target them, made threats of violence intended to instigate a civil war, and engaged in planning and training for an operation to attack the capitol building of Michigan and to kidnap government officials, including the governor of Michigan."
On Thursday afternoon, Whitmer blamed Trump for his failure to condemn far-right groups.
"Just last week, the President of the United States stood before the American people and refused to condemn white supremacists and hate groups like these two Michigan militia groups," she said. "'Stand back and stand by,' he told them. ... Hate groups heard the President's words not as a rebuke, but as a rallying cry, as a call to action. When our leaders speak, their words matter. They carry weight."
In the spring, armed protesters entered the state capitol to demand an end to Michigan’s state of emergency that included a stay-at-home mandate ordered by Whitmer to combat a worsening coronavirus outbreak.
Michigan officials said at least two men charged in relation to the alleged plot to kidnap Whitmer were among those who carried long guns into the state Capitol in April.
.
Back in April, after the protest at the state capitol, Trump put out a Tweet that read: “LIBERATE MICHIGAN.” Trump supported the protesters’ demand that Whitmer lift the emergency measures and reopen the state more quickly.
Friday, Oct 9, 2020 · 2:36:38 PM +00:00
·
Charles Jay
Meanwhile, nothing has been done to ban people from openly carrying guns inside the Michigan Capitol since armed protesters intimidated legislators last April. The building still lacks metal detetors and doesn’t perform bag checks, according to the non-partisan news source Bridge Michigan.
For months, the bipartisan six-member Capitol Commission that oversees the Capitol has debated whether it can ban guns, but punted to the state Legislature to make a decision.
The appropriately named Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey said Thursday that he’s “having further conversations with members of the commission, but didn’t think increased security measures would be effective in protecting against the kind of threat that federal and state authorities were alleging.
“There is no way in a country like ours that we can legislate and get rid of all risk. If we did that it would not be a country that any of us would like, nor would we recognize,” Shirkey said.
Democratic lawmakers, especially black legislators, have been calling for a ban on carrying guns into the Capitol. State Rep. Rebekah Warren sent out the following Tweet yesterday.
In May, one black lawmaker, Rep. Sarah Anthony, arrived at the capitol with an escort of armed black citizens because she wanted to highlight the failure by Capitol police to provide legislators with adequate security.